The 46,283 acre Pharaoh Lake Wilderness is located
in Warren and Essex Counties in the towns of Schroon, Ticonderoga,
Horicon and Hague. The wilderness is located east of US 9 and
I-87, south of NY 74, north of NY 8 and west of NY 9N. There are over 60 miles of hiking trails and
fourteen lean to's located in the wilderness, making this a very
popular destination for outdoor adventurers.
This is
easily the most popular recreational area in the East-Central Adirondacks.

With all the
hiking trails you can create a loop that fits your schedule, whether a
day hike or a backpacking trip. You can
also use Putnam Pond State Campgroundas a base for your
adventure. We would
suggest the Putnam Pond Loop for those camping at Putnam Pond State
Campground. The most popular hikes include Pharaoh Mountain, Treadway Mountain,
Goose Pond, Crab Pond,
Rock Pond,
Gull Pond, Pharaoh Lake,
Clear Pond, Grizzle Ocean and
Berrymill Pond to name just a few. It's a large area
to explore, so expect to take more than just a few days to see it all.

We'd recommend a hike to Treadway Mountain. It's a long 3.9 mile one way hike from Putnam Pond Campground with an
elevation change of nearly 900 feet. You are rewarded with
spectacular views from it's rocky summit. It's a mountain that
gets overlooked and deserves more attention. If you take a kayak one
mile across
Putnam Pond, the hike to the summit from the landing is only 2.3
miles one way.

Note: The numbers next to the trail names
corresponds with the numbers on the maps below of the hiking trails in
the wilderness area.

Crane Pond Road (36) -
This dirt
road is one of the major northern access points for the wilderness. The road is suppose to be closed to vehicles, however the road remains
open as access is not blocked. It is becoming a very rough road
since it is NOT maintained. It looks good at the start of the road but
quickly gets rough and rougher as you go. The road travels two miles to
Crane Pond. At 0.9 miles is the trailhead for Goose Pond Trail
(37). The road gets much rougher from here. At 1.6 miles a section of road
is usually flooded by the northeastern
end of Alder Pond. At 1.7 miles the Long Swing Trail (38) from
NY 74 is on the left. The west end of Crane Pond is reached at
2.0 miles. The Pharaoh Mountain Trail (40) starts off the road.

Goose Pond Trail (37) - The
short trail has yellow trail markers as it leaves Crane Pond Road. Across the pond is a view of Pharaoh Mountain. You may see loons
in the area.

Long Swing Trail (38) - This
blue marked trail leaves a small parking area off NY 74 and enters the
woods. At 2.8
miles the trail ends at Crane Pond Road, however DEC signs has the
trail continuing to Pharaoh Lake.

Tubmill Marsh Trail (39) - This
trail travels 6.4 miles from NY 74 entering the northern section of
the wilderness, connecting to numerous trails leading to the many
ponds in the region and ending at the Pharaoh Mountain Trail. It
is a popular trail with backpackers exploring the area and is
sometimes referred to as the Short Swing Trail.

Pharaoh Mountain Trail (40) -
This trail travels over the 2551 foot summit of Pharaoh Mountain.
This red marked trail starts at the western end of Crane Pond at the
end of Crane Pond Road (36). The trail crosses the outlet of
Crane Pond on a plank bridge and soon reaches a trail register.
This first section of trail is also referred as the Long Swing Trail.

Lean To Spur Trail (40A) travels 0.2 miles to Pharaoh Lake
Lean To #5 and a scenic point on the lake. There are great views from
the tip of the point.

Glidden Marsh Trail (41) - This
trail connects the Crane Pond area with the Pharaoh Lake area and the
Grizzle Ocean Trail (47). This trail is also referred to as the
Long Swing Trail (as you'll see with the DEC signs along the trail).
The yellow marked Glidden Marsh Trail begins at a junction of the
Tubmill Marsh Trail (39), 0.4 miles east of the Pharaoh Mountain Trail
(40) and 1.1 miles from the end of Crane Pond Road (36).

At 4.4 miles the trail reaches
the junctions of the Grizzle Ocean Trail (47) and East Shore of
Pharaoh Lake Trail (51), which marks the end of the Glidden Marsh
Trail.

Otter Pond Trail (42) - This
short 0.3 mile trail access is only via boat from NY 74 on Eagle Lake.
The trail is well marked with dark blue markers, but the start can
easily be missed.

Clear Pond Trail (43) - This
trail starts between campsites 38 & 39 in Putnam Pond Campground and
offers hikers an opportunity to make a complete circuit around Putnam
Pond, as well as access to several small ponds in the area. When
this trail is combined with the Grizzle Ocean Trail (47), it's
possible to make a complete loop around Putnam Pond. This trail
is marked with yellow markers up to the end of Clear Pond and then
blue markers up to the junction with the Grizzle Ocean Trail (47).

Rock Pond Spur Trail (43A) - travels to the Rock Pond Lean To.

West Clear Pond Trail (43B)

Putnam Pond to Clear Pond Trail (43C) travels 0.6 miles to the shore of Putnam Pond.

Bear Pond Trail (44) - This
trail starts off the Clear Pond Trail (43) at Heart Pond and travels
north along the eastern shore of the pond.

Lilypad Pond Trail (45) - This
red marked trail, also known as the Rock Pond to Lilypad Pond Trail,
begins from Clear Pond Trail (43) and heads north following the
western shore of Rock Pond. The trail passes a nice campsite as
it follows the shore. This section of the trail is marked on
some maps as the South Rock Pond Trail (45B).

North Rock Pond Trail (45A) - This
trail follows the north shore of the pond and features a bluff
overlook of the pond, a few campsites, then reaches the Bear Pond
Trail (44) at 0.6 miles. The trail ends at the Rock Pond Spur
Trail (43A) at 0.8 miles. You can complete a two mile loop
around Rock Pond if you wish.

Treadway Mountain Trail (46) -
This mountain features a large open rocky area on the summit with
spectacular views including the High Peaks. It is possible
to cross Putnam Pond via boat and eliminate 3.2 miles of hiking from
this otherwise long 7.8 mile round trip hike from the campground. Don't let the length of the hike deter you!

Grizzle Ocean Trail (47) - This
yellow marked trail begins on the west side of the parking lot at
Putnam Pond State Campground. The trail
immediately crosses a couple of bridges and a side trail on the right
leads to Putnam Pond.

Berrymill Pond from the South (48A)
- The start of this trail is from a small parking area off New Hague
Road. The trail starts out following yellow markers and then
reaches a fork at 0.3 miles where the trail heads right following blue
markers. At the fork is the junction of the Springhill Ponds
from the South Trail (53), which goes left. A junction on the left for Berrymill
Pond Lean To is at 3.0
miles and the shore of the pond at 3.1 miles, where you'll see the
lean to.

Pharaoh Lake via Mill Brook (50)
- This is the most popular trail into the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness from
the south. This trail takes you directly to the south end of
Pharaoh Lake and giving you access to other sections of the
wilderness. The official trailhead is at the end of Pharaoh Lake
Road where the road reaches the wilderness boundary and a parking lot.

At 2.4 miles on the left is the end of
the Sucker Brook Trail (55). The footbridge over the outlet to
Pharaoh Lake is crossed at 2.5 miles. Just beyond the bridge is
the junctions of the Pharaoh Mountain Trail (40) and the East Shore
Trail (51).

East Shore of Pharaoh Lake (51)
- This trail follows along the east shore of Pharaoh Lake with nice
views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The trail passes by
three lean to's. The trail starts at the junction of the Mill
Brook Trail (50) and the Pharaoh Mountain Trail (40). At 2.4 miles the
trail reaches the junction of the Glidden marsh Trail (41) straight
and the Grizzle Ocean Trail (47) on the right.

Springhill Ponds Trail (52) -
The red marked trail leaves the East Shore of Pharaoh Lake Trail.
This trail does not get much traffic and tends to be wet in sections
as well as not as well maintained. The trail is tough to follow
at times and leads to another trail that takes hikers to the large
Springhill Pond after 4.4 miles.

Springhill Ponds from the South
(52A) - This trail forks from Berrymill Flow from the South (48A)
and reaches the main trail at 3.0 miles, then it's another 0.4 miles
to the larger Springhill Pond.

Whortleberry Pond Trail (53) -
This short 0.3 mile trail takes hikers from the East Shore Trail (51)
to Whortleberry Pond. This pond is popular with bird watchers.

Sucker Brook and Desolate Brook
Trail to Pharaoh Lake (54) - This is a horse trail that is very
remote and hard to follow. The trail has yellow markers and travels
7.5 miles to Pharaoh Lake.

Spectacle Pond Trail
(55) - This
is a beautiful woods walk to a nice pond off East Shore Road.
The trail travels 1.3 miles to the pond and then ends at 1.7 miles at
a scenic spot with a view of Pharaoh Mountain.

Gull Pond Trail
(56) - This
short trail is wet in places as it travels 0.6 miles, climbing to a
rocky outcrop overlooking the pond. No camping is allowed at the
overlook. There are designated campsites prior to reaching the pond on
a side trail.